Puntland forces seized a military base near Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed Airport on the north-eastern outskirts of Galkayo on Wednesday after hours of heavy fighting. The regional administration said it detained 101 people and took custody of 60 wounded fighters. Somalia Today could not independently verify those figures or other battlefield claims. Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni described the assault as a planned security operation against armed groups threatening public order. “The operation our forces carried out in Galkayo is a message to anyone working against Puntland’s state institutions,” Deni said at a news conference. He said only one force existed in Puntland and urged remaining federal-aligned personnel to surrender and join the region’s Darawiish forces. The compound had been occupied by members of the Puntland Security Force, known as the PSF, who had recently declared themselves part of Somalia’s national security forces, according to Puntland officials and local media. Originally established as a specialised counter-terrorism force, the PSF has long operated with considerable independence from Puntland’s regular security command. Its relationship with Deni’s administration deteriorated into deadly fighting in Bosaso in December 2021. Further clashes erupted near Laag in July after Puntland accused the federal government of building rival military structures inside the region. The fighting began before dawn when Puntland forces attacked the compound. Residents reported mortar exchanges, heavy machine-gun fire and the use of other weapons. Videos circulated by regional media later showed Puntland troops inside the base alongside captured military vehicles, weapons and ammunition. Puntland police said the detainees included Giijaale Abdi Baidoa, whom they identified as commander of the Galkayo unit, and officers named Baariyoow and Mahad Mowliid. Authorities also reported seizing rifles, ammunition, military vehicles, police uniforms, handcuffs, boots and other equipment. Puntland alleged that some of the equipment formed part of Chinese assistance supplied to the Somali Police Force, but Somalia Today could not verify its origin or whether federal authorities had transferred it to the compound. At least one boy died and his mother was injured when a mortar struck a residential neighbourhood, according to residents quoted by local media. Another civilian was reportedly injured, while five Puntland soldiers were wounded. The overall casualty toll among the opposing forces remained unclear. Explosions forced families to flee neighbourhoods near the airport, while businesses closed and traffic slowed across parts of northern Galkayo. Galkayo, the capital of the central Mudug region, is divided between Puntland in the north and Galmudug in the south. Years of reconciliation and security cooperation had brought relative calm after earlier clashes between the two administrations repeatedly displaced civilians. Puntland said Wednesday’s fighting followed the arrival of a weapons shipment in the Galmudug-controlled part of Galkayo on Tuesday. It alleged that the federal government intended the weapons for forces operating inside Puntland. Clashes broke out after armed men intercepted part of the shipment and Galmudug security forces moved to recover it. Neither the federal government nor Galmudug confirmed that the weapons came from Mogadishu. Jubaland backed Puntland and accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of spreading instability into relatively peaceful regions. Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire also accused Mohamud’s administration of fuelling internal conflict instead of concentrating national forces against Al-Shabaab and Islamic State militants. The confrontation deepens a wider dispute over constitutional changes, elections and the division of power between Mogadishu and Somalia’s federal member states. Puntland stopped recognising federal institutions in 2024 and said it would govern independently until Somali leaders reached a negotiated constitutional settlement. The federal government and the PSF had not publicly responded to Puntland’s latest allegations by Wednesday afternoon. Fighting in a city divided between two administrations threatens the relative calm created by years of reconciliation and security cooperation. It may also further complicate Somalia’s political divisions while Al-Shabaab and Islamic State militants continue to threaten the country.